Motor has 750 miles on it and seems to be running fine with one exception. When flull throttle, either from a full stop or rolling at any speed, there is a hesitation or delay of about almost a second before the truck takes off like a hanshee. Like when four barell secondaries open up. It will break the tires loose and keep on going without a miss. Is this normal operation for the 3.5L?

 

That sounds like turbo lag to me

 

It's the normal driving mode and the kinda lazy action of the throttle body I'd guess. Throw it in sport mode and try it, results will be different.

 

Will try sport mode and report back.

 

Big difference in sport mode. Motor was turning 2000rpm at 15mph when I opened the throttle. Very little to no hesitiation, vs taking off at 1200rpm in D. Guess it is turbo lag and wll have to get used to it. There is no such thing in the Escape. It just goes whether you floor it at a stop or on a roll.

 

Yep...

Plus, sport mode sets the transmission to shift earlier than usual, which keeps you in the Boo$$$t. Very noticeable on single lane roads when you overtake a car.

 

there is no turbo lag on these motors. it's lazy throttle tuning and maybe delay in transmission downshifting.

Calibrations in sport mode resolve that (as OP found out )

 

The truck has learned your easy on the fuel takeoffs. One way to "reset" the system is to disconnect your battery, both positive and negative terminals, let it sit for 15-20 minutes, reconnect, and go for a ride. Your throttle response will return for a while, but will revert back to your lightfootedness. A tune will take care of that. I run a tune all the time, and mine doesn't do that anymore. You don't have to go hogwild on a tune, I know on just my trans tune, I don't get the throttle lag.
Or, try the Thport mode, as suggested. That's the least expensive way.

Oh, on my olde 4 barrel cars, I had no lag, mechanical linkage, instead of vacuum took care of that.

 

You got me pegged on that one. According to the info display, it is at 22.3mpg in the city. Haven't been out on the hwy yet for a run. Light foot is me. I will do the battery disconnect and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip.

Yes... I was thinking of vacuum operated secondaries.

 

Ya, that gets a lot of guys, and it's worrisome until you know that these things adapt to you, instead of the other way around.
Just as an aside, I get around 19-19.3 in town this last trip on on my 93 tune, if I run it stock, I'm up to 20-21. I'll sacrifice that much just for the potential fun.